TORONTO — General Motors says it has permanently shut down its Maven car sharing service in all markets including Toronto after suspending operations in March due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The company said in an email to customers Tuesday that it made the temporary closure permanent after critically looking at its business, the industry, and what’s going on with the pandemic.
Last year GM pulled the service from eight North American markets but kept Toronto and some U.S. cities running. it said at the time it was looking to expand the service in Canada.
GM says the Maven assets will be transferred to GM’s Global Innovation organization as well as the larger enterprise.
The news comes on the same day that Zipcar announced it was ending operations in British Columbia, though the car-sharing service put the blame on the complexities of operating in the province, such as insurance, rather than the outbreak.
The departure follows on Car2Go’s end to operations in North America at the end of February, as car-sharing services face competition from ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft.
Zipcar is still operating in some Ontario cities, and has rolled out a program in Toronto in response to the outbreak that allows customers to keep a vehicle Monday to Friday to reduce vehicle sharing.
Enterprise suspended its sharing program in March because of the pandemic, though the company says it is temporary and is still operating its more conventional rental service.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2020.
The Canadian Press